Email: "Bernice Volkens’ COOKING CORNER"
*To:		<--TO Email REQUIRED!
*From:		<--FROM Email REQUIRED!

I’m probably not the first to say this to you, but I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week and with a blink of an eye the holiday season will once again be upon us.  I must have had an exciting and busy year because 2009 just flew by.  Like all special times of the year I get requests for recipes.  Or like yesterday I had a special request for the special “Turkey Line” that is always around this time of the year.  To get the Turkey Talk-Line you call: 1-800-288-8372.  Home economists are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (CST) with automated assistance available after hours.  However, if you have a computer your dinner problems can be just a click away.  The website is www.butterball.com . This site is not for just help with cooking the turkey but it has creative recipes, time-saving holiday tips and even opportunities to win prizes.  It is a great site and even has a sample of some of the funny stories about what people ask.  Like the trucker who was going to cook his turkey on the engine of his truck and wanted to know if he went faster if the bird would cook quicker. Last year they received 200,000 callers and many more hits on their web site.  The most asked question was: “What is the best way to thaw a turkey?”  The question I always get at this time of the year is questions on the stuffing.  One is to stuff or not stuff.  I like a stuffed turkey, but that is my personal taste.  Some people like the crispness you get when you do the stuffing in a pan.  Both ways are good.  I know certain families have traditions when it comes to what kind of stuffing will be in their holiday bird.  My family likes the sweet German dressing.  However, when I cook a turkey I serve the traditional giblet, sage dressing along with the sweet dressing in a casserole.  There are so many wonderful dressings in every cookbook and don’t be afraid to use them.  I went to my old Betty Crocker Cook Book one year and made an oyster dressing, just because one of my daughter-in-laws’s said that was the kind her family always had.  It was delicious. This is also the time of the year I get requests for recipes I’ve had in my column before and has been a favorite.  Speaking of recipes pick up the FREE magazine called “OCCASIONS” put out by Affiliated Foods at Trunk’s Grocery Store in Reinbeck.  I tried the Pumpkin Roulade or roll and it was delicious and I will be making it again for Thanksgiving.  Another favorite I make at this time of the year is an easy pumpkin cake.  When you buy ingredients for this cake take notice that it is pumpkin pie mix and NOT a can of pumpkin.

GREAT PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE 1 pkg. spice cake, dry 1 30oz. can pumpkin pie mix, as is don’t mix anything into it. 1/3 cup water 2tsp. baking soda 2 eggs Dissolve soda in water.  Combine ingredients and pour into a greased     9”x13” pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until it tests done. TOPPING 8-10 oz. whipped topping 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Combine all ingredients, frost cake and refrigerate. “On Thanksgiving Day, the Butterball turkey line is more important than the President.  He can take the day off, but the Turkey Talk Line can’t.”

Subscribe to Northern-Sun Print

Share: